Moulding

ABSTRACT

A system for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food starting materials which are suitable for consumption, in particular human consumption, which system comprises: -a production device having: -a frame, -a mould member provided with at least one mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member, -mass feed means for feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mould member, the system furthermore comprising at least one cleaning device for cleaning one or more parts of the production device which come into contact with the mass. The mould member is preferably removable from the frame. Furthermore, the system preferably comprises a storage device for storing a plurality of mould members. It is preferable for each removable mould member to be provided with an identification, the system comprising recognition means for recognizing the identification of a mould member. Furthermore, the system preferably comprises a memory for storing at least one history of a mould member.

The first aspect of the present invention relates to a system formoulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more foodstarting materials which are suitable for consumption, in particularhuman consumption.

The invention is deemed suitable in particular for the moulding ofproducts from a meat mass, such as for hamburgers and the like, butother edible masses, for example of fish, potato, dough, etc. are alsoconceivable.

WO 00/30458 and WO 2004/002229 have disclosed systems having aproduction device provided with a frame, a mould member designed as amould drum and provided with at least one mould cavity, the framesupporting the mould member, and furthermore provided with mass feedmeans for feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of themould member. U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,039, for example, has disclosed asystem having a mould member designed as a mould plate which can move toand fro.

It is an object of the first aspect of the invention to propose measureswhich enhance the expedient use of systems of this type.

Moreover, it is an object of the first aspect of the invention topropose improvements in the area of the cleaning of systems of thistype.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a system for mouldingthree-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food startingmaterials which are suitable for consumption in accordance with claim 1,as well as a mould drum designed and intended for a system for mouldingthree-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food startingmaterials suitable for consumption in accordance with claim 5. Furtheradvantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims 2-4 and6-11.

The second aspect of the invention provides a system according to claim12. Further advantageous embodiments are described in the dependentclaims 13-58.

A third aspect of the invention relates to a system according to claim59, the system furthermore comprising a storage device for storing aplurality of mould members. The storage device and if appropriate thefurther system is preferably designed as will be explained on the basisof the first aspect of the invention.

A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a system according to claim60, in which each removable mould member is provided with anidentification, and in which the system comprises recognition means forrecognizing the identification of a mould member. Furthermore, thesystem is preferably designed as will be explained on the basis of thefirst aspect of the invention.

A fifth aspect of the invention relates to a system according to claim61, in which the mould member can is removeable from the frame and inwhich the system furthermore comprises a memory for storing at least onehistory of a mould member. Furthermore the system is preferably designedas will be explained on the basis of the first aspect of the invention.

The various aspects of the invention also relate to a method formoulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more foodstarting materials which are suitable for consumption, in particularhuman consumption, in which use is made of a system of this type.

It will be clear that the various aspects of the invention can berealized separately and/or in all possible combinations.

The various aspects of the invention will be explained in more detailbelow with reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 diagrammatically depicts an exemplary embodiment of a systemaccording to the invention having a production device, mould drumcleaning device, cleaning device for the production device,

FIG. 2 diagrammatically depicts a part of the production device withmould drum, and conveyor means for the mould drum from FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 diagrammatically depicts the positioning of the mould drum in themould drum cleaning device from FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 a shows a mould drum according to the invention,

FIG. 4 b shows a cross section through part of the mould drum from FIG.4 a,

FIG. 5 diagrammatically depicts part of the mould drum cleaning devicefrom FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 diagrammatically depicts the production device and an associatedcleaning device from FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 shows the production device and the cleaning device which hasbeen positioned against part of it,

FIG. 8 diagrammatically depicts a variant of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 diagrammatically depicts a second exemplary embodiment of asystem according to the invention,

FIG. 10 shows the cleaning device which has been moved towards theproduction device and has its housing in the open position,

FIG. 11 shows the illustration from FIG. 10 with the housing in theclosed position,

FIG. 12 diagrammatically depicts a third exemplary embodiment of asystem according to the invention, and

FIG. 13 diagrammatically depicts a fourth exemplary embodiment of asystem according to the invention.

In the figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a production device which isdesigned to mould three-dimensional products from a mass of one or morefood starting materials which are suitable for consumption, inparticular human consumption, in particular a meat-containing mass.

The production device 1 is described in detail in WO 2004/002229, thecontents of which are hereby deemed to be incorporated in the presentapplication.

The production device 1 has a mould drum 20, as will be explained inmore detail below. The production device 1 is only an example aimed atexplaining the invention. The invention can also be realized usingproduction devices of different designs, for example as shown in WO00/30458.

By way of example, the invention can be used on production devices inwhich the mould member comprises a mould plate which is movable, forexample can slide to and fro, which mould plate is provided with one ormore mould cavities, which mould cavities each have an opening in atleast one plate surface, the mass feed means comprising one or more massfeed members arranged along a plate surface. A production device of thistype is often also used for the moulding of meat products, such as forexample hamburgers. A device of this type is shown, for example, in U.S.Pat. No. 4,975,039.

The production device 1 has a mould drum part 10 with a frame, in thiscase a frame which can be moved over the floor and supports a mouldmember designed as a mould drum 20. The mould drum 20 has a drum surfaceat the outer circumference which is provided with a plurality of mouldcavities 21.

The frame 10 is provided with a horizontal mould drum fitting spindle11, so that the mould drum 20 is rotatable with respect to the frame 10about the spindle 11.

In an embodiment which is not shown, the frame may have a plurality ofmould drum fitting spindles, or the frame comprises other support meansfor supporting the mould drum rotatably with respect to the frame.

At one end, the fitting spindle 11 is fixed to the frame 10, so that themould drum 20 can be pushed onto the fitting spindle 11 and removed fromthe free end.

Furthermore, the frame 10 is provided with mould drum drive means 14 forrotating the mould drum 20. In the embodiment shown, a staticallydisposed distributor 14 a, suitable for supplying or sucking out aliquid or gaseous forcing agent, such as air, compressed air, water orsteam or the like, is arranged in the vicinity of the mould drum drivemeans 14. A distributor which is known per se is provided with a pumpand slots through which the forcing agent can flow. On account of thedistributor 14 a being disposed in a static position, the rotating moulddrum alternately moves past forcing agent feed slots and forcing agentdischarge slots.

Furthermore, the production device 1 has a mass feed part 15, which islikewise designed such that it can be moved over the floor and isprovided with a storage container 16 for mass, in this example a(kneaded) meat mass, pump means 17 (illustrated highly diagrammatically)for pumping the mass, and a mass feed member 18 connected to the pumpmeans 17. At a mass feed position, the mass feed member 18 bears againstthe outer circumference of the mould drum 20, so that (meat) mass can befed to the passing mould cavities 21 of the rotating mould drum 20 undera filling pressure.

In this example, the mass feed member 18 is supported pivotably by meansof a support spindle 18a on the frame 10.

Here, the frame 10 is also provided with a discharge member 25 fordischarging the moulded products, in this case in the form of a (mesh)belt conveyor 25 which extends as far as beneath the mould drum 2, sothat products which have been ejected from the mould cavities 21 in theregion of the underside of the belt pass onto the said belt conveyor 25.

The system comprises further product conveyor means, in this case twosets of belt conveyors 30, 31 and 32, 33, for discharging mouldedproducts, if appropriate to further product treatment devices.

As has been stated, the mould drum 20 is removable. For this purpose, inFIGS. 1-3 a mould drum conveyor 40 is provided. This conveyor 40, shownby way of example, has a movable frame 41, a mould drum gripper 42 andlifting means 43 for moving the gripper 42 up and down.

It can be seen from FIG. 2 that after the mass feed member 18 has beenmoved away from the mould drum 20, the conveyor 40 can be moved towardsthe frame 10, so that the gripper 42 can handle the mould drum 20. Then,the gripper 42 is moved to the correct height, so that it bears theweight of the mould drum 20 and the mould drum 20 is slid off thespindle 11. Then, the mould drum 20 can be displaced to a mould drumcleaning device 50, which is disposed at a distance from the productiondevice 1. It should be noted that there is no need to provide a fixedarrangement, but rather, as can be seen, the device 50 is likewise ofmovable design. However, it is preferable for the cleaning work to becarried out at a different location from the production of foodstuffs.

The design of the cleaning device 50 and the cleaning of the mould drum20 will now be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3-5; inthis context, it should be noted that this is an example of theinvention.

As is diagrammatically depicted in FIG. 3 by the arrow, the mould drum20 is placed in the cleaning device 50 with the aid of conveyor 40. Thecleaning device 50 is in this case designed to carry out a plurality ofpossible cleaning processes substantially automatically, for example aprimary cleaning process (which could be of relatively short duration)and an intensive cleaning process (for example in order to realizecomplete disinfection).

It can be seen from FIGS. 4 a, b that the mould drum 20 is provided withmould cavities 21 each having a mould cavity wall, which is formed atleast in part by a wall part with a porous structure.

In the preferred embodiment of the mould drum 20 shown, there is anouter drum 22, which is made at least in part (and in this examplecompletely) from material with a porous structure, in such a manner thata mould cavity 21 has a mould cavity wall which is at least partiallyporous.

Inside the outer drum 22 there is positioned an inner member 23 whichfits into the outer drum 22, the inner member 23, together with theadjoining surface of the outer drum 22, forming a number of passages 24which extend from one head end 20a of the mould drum 20, so that amedium can be forced through the porous walls of the mould cavities 21and/or suction can take place via a passage 24 of this type. The saidmedium, for example compressed air, can be used, for example, to releasethe moulded product from a mould cavity 21. The suction can be used toextract air during the filling operation and/or, for example, to suck afilm or the like into the mould cavity.

In a variant which is not shown, the passages 24, if appropriatebranching into passages of smaller diameter, continue as far as themould cavity, in which case the porous wall, for example made fromsintered metal, is then absent.

It can be seen from FIG. 4 b that the outer surface of the inner member23 is provided with grooves which extend substantially in the axialdirection and form the passages 24.

The outer drum 22 could, for example, be assembled from one or morerings of porous material, for example porous metal, in which case theone or more mould cavities 21 are formed by a material-removingmachining operation, for example an electro-erosive machining operation.

If appropriate, the mould drum may comprise rings, optionally providedwith mould cavities, which are releasably coupled to one another, sothat a set of rings is obtained as seen in the axial direction of themould drum. This can serve to influence the capacity of the mouldingdevice, for example by combining rings with and without mould cavitiesand/or rings with different numbers and/or shapes of the mould cavities.It should be noted that when the mould member is designed as a mouldplate, it is also possible to make use of an assembly of parts whichforms the final mould plate.

If the outer drum 22 is made from metal, the porous structure can besealed in the outermost part 22 c of the surface of the outer drum by alubricating action during the machining of the metal porous drum 20 in alathe. Obviously, the sealing of the said outermost part 22 c could alsobe realized in other ways, for example by the application of a coatinglayer (which if appropriate partially penetrates into the porousmaterial).

In an embodiment which is not shown, the mould drum only comprises an“outer” wall, for example such as the component 22 shown in FIG. 4 b.The frame may then, for example, comprise passages via which a medium(air) can be displaced to or from the mould cavities in the mould drum.By way of example, it is possible to provide for the fitting spindle tobe provided with passages, such as for example the passages 24. In avariant, the frame comprises the inner member 23 (optionallyreleasable), and the mould drum is formed by component 22, which can beremoved from the inner member 23. As will subsequently be demonstrated,it would then be possible, for example, for only the “outer drum” 22 tobe placed in the cleaning device 50, and for a storage device for outerdrums 22 to be provided.

It would also be possible to provide for the mould drum to be supportedby supporting features at both head-ends of the mould drum.

The cleaning device 50 is designed to force at least one cleaning liquidthrough the wall parts with the porous structure into the mould cavities21. As can be seen in FIG. 4 a, the passages 24 leading to each mouldcavity 21 each have a feed opening 24 a in an end face 20 a of the moulddrum 20.

The cleaning device 50 has a distributor 51 which comes to bear againstthe head-end face 20 a, for the purpose of feeding cleaning liquid toone or more of the passages 24. In this way, any possible contaminationwhich has stuck to or in the porous wall part of a mould cavity 21 isforced out and discharged.

The cleaning device 50 is provided with supporting means 52 forrotatably supporting the mould drum 20 that is to be cleaned, in thiscase rollers 52 which bear against the outer circumference of the drumand, via a motor (not shown), serve as drive means for driving the moulddrum 20 to be cleaned in rotation. In an embodiment which is not shown,the mould drum to be cleaned can be driven by a central shaft.

The cleaning device 50 has a collection trough 53 for cleaning liquidand a cover 54, so that the cleaning of the mould drum 20 can take placein a closed chamber.

The cleaning device 50 is designed to collect and at least partiallyrecirculate cleaning liquid, for which purpose a pump 57 is provided.The cleaning device 50 is provided with a filter for filtering thecleaning liquid, for example a coarse filter 55 and a fine filter 56.

It is preferable to provide heating means for heating the cleaningliquid. Furthermore, there are means for mixing one or more chemicalswith a cleaning liquid, for example a disinfectant, stored, for example,in containers 58.

Spraying means 59 are provided here for an initial coarse cleaning.

In one possible cleaning process, first of all the outer side of thedrum is rinsed by the sprayers 59, followed by rinsing with cold water(together with a suitable cleaning agent) via the passages 24, followedby disinfection with water provided with suitable chemicals and a finalrinse via the passages and on the outside with cold water. As analternative, one or more steps could also be carried out using hot water(40-90 degrees Celsius).

The cleaning could also comprise descaling of the mould member, forexample using a suitable acid, which may be of relevance in particularto mould cavities with a porous wall structure.

In an embodiment which is not shown, the cleaning device comprisesinspection means. These inspection means, for example having a digital(infrared) camera with associated image-processing means, can monitorthe cleaning and also the state of the mould drum. By way of example, itis possible to detect damage and/or wear to the drum. These inspectionresults can be stored in a memory and if appropriate interpreted incombination with the use/cleaning history, for example in order todetermine the expected service life.

Furthermore, the system comprises a second cleaning device 60, which isdesigned to clean that part of the production device 1 which bears themould drum 20, in particular after the said mould drum 20 has beenremoved. That part of the device 10, after all, also becomes soiledduring production.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 6, in this example the cleaning device60 is of movable design, in such a manner that the cleaning device 60can be placed against that part of the production device 1 which is tobe cleaned.

The cleaning device 60 comprises a housing 61, which can form a closedchamber around that part of the production device that is to be cleaned,in order for a cleaning process to be carried out in the said closedchamber.

In this example, the said housing 61—when it is bearing against acorresponding part of component 10 (cf. FIG. 7)—surrounds the fittingspindle 11 for the drum and the discharge belt 25 as well as the supportspindle 18 a. In this case, the underside of the housing 61 forms acollection trough 62 for cleaning liquid (that is to be recirculated).One or more sprayers or other similar devices which spray out optionallyheated cleaning liquid may be provided in the cleaning device 60. Thedevice 60 may likewise be provided with one or more filters, additionsof chemicals, etc. It is preferable for the cleaning device also to beable to carry out a number of possible cleaning processes as desired. Itis preferable for this cleaning device likewise to comprise inspectionmeans (not shown) for inspecting the production device, so that thecleaning and the state of the device can be monitored.

FIG. 8 shows a variant of the cleaning device 60, which device 60′ isarranged in a fixed position, so that that part 10 of the productiondevice 1 which is to be cleaned is moved to the cleaning device 60′. Inthis case too, a housing 61′ forms a protected chamber around thecomponents to be cleaned.

FIG. 9 shows a system in which there is a storage device 80 for storinga plurality of mould members, in this example mould drums 20. Thestorage device 80 forms a storage chamber which is substantially closedoff with respect to the outside for storing the mould members, forexample the mould drums 20. The storage device 80 comprises associatedconveyor means for displacing the mould members 20 between a receivingand/or release position and one or more storage positions.

In this example, the storage device 80 is combined with a mould drumcleaning device 100.

The storage device 80 is located at a distance from the productiondevice 1, and there are conveyor means 110 for conveying the mould drums20 between the storage device 80 and the production device 1.

These conveyor means 110 in this case comprise an overhead conveyor 111,along which the gripper 42 for a mould drum 20 can be displaced. A drivemotor 112 is provided for this purpose. The gripper 42 can remove amould drum 20 from the device 1 and move it towards the storage device80, where the mould drum 20 is transferred by internal conveyor meansassociated with the storage device. In this example, the storage device80 is provided with an endless suspended track 81 with carriers 82 whichcan be displaced along the said track 81 and can each carry a drum 20.The cleaning device 100 is located along the track 81, for example atthe location where the mould drums 20 first reach the storage device 80after use.

It can be seen from FIG. 9 that the cleaning device 60″ for theproduction device 1 likewise has associated conveyor means, which inthis case are designed as an extension of the overhead conveyor 111.This conveyor 111 can move the cleaning device 60″ between an inactiveposition at a distance from the production device 1 (cf. FIG. 9) and anactive position at the production device (cf. FIGS. 10 and 11).

The cleaning device 60″ has two housing parts 61 a″ and 61 b″, which canmove with respect to one another between an open position (FIG. 10) anda closed position (FIG. 11). In the open position, the cleaning device60″ can be fitted to that part 10 of the production device 1 which is tobe cleaned, and then the parts to be cleaned (spindle 11, conveyor belt25) can be enclosed and a cleaning treatment carried out.

In this example, the housing parts 61 a″ and 61 b″ can be displacedalong a guide 114 which is located at the top side of the housing parts.The guide 114 can in turn be displaced along the conveyor 111.

FIG. 12 shows a system which largely corresponds to the system shown inFIGS. 9-11. In FIG. 12, there is a mould drum storage device 80′ wheremould drums 20 lie in racks or the like. A conveyor means (not shown) ofthe storage device is responsible for putting in and removing moulddrums 20. Furthermore, there is a cleaning device 100′ combined with thestorage device 80″. As can be seen, the gripper 42 first releases themould drum 20 at this cleaning device 100′.

FIG. 13 shows a system which largely corresponds to the systems shown inFIGS. 9-12. The storage device 80″ has a paternoster for the mould drums20.

For expedient production of three-dimensional food products by means ofa system which uses exchangeable mould members, such as the mould drumswhich have been explained with reference to the drawing, it ispreferable to provide for each removable mould member, in the examplesmould drum 20, to be provided with an identification.

By way of example, each mould drum 20 is provided with an opticallyreadable code (such as a barcode), an electronic transponder (which canbe read and if appropriate written remotely), or other identificationcharacteristic. The said characteristic is preferably unique to eachmould member.

The system is in this case provided with suitable recognition or readingmeans for recognizing the identification of a mould member. Ifappropriate, it is also possible to provide writing means for adaptingthe identification characteristic, for example when using a writabletransponder.

FIG. 1 indicates that the part 10 of the production device 1 is providedwith recognition means for, preferably automatically, recognizing theidentification of a mould drum 20, for example a reader 120 for atransponder which is arranged at a suitable location, for example at anhead-end face, on the mould drum 20.

This reader 120 is connected to a control device 130 of the system,which in this case has an associated computer 131. A history of the useof the mould drum 20 is stored for each mould drum 20 in the memory ofthe computer 131. Partially on this basis, it is possible to determinethe instant at which a mould drum 20 has to be cleaned, and ifappropriate by what cleaning process. For example, the cleaning processcan be matched to the type of mould drum, and the way in which eachmould drum is cleaned can be determined separately.

The history can define the use of the mould drum 20, for example inconjunction with the identification provided to the products ultimatelyproduced, which is useful, for example, in the context of product safety(for example if products need to be recalled).

In one variant, the mould member cleaning device is (also) provided withrecognition means for recognizing the identification of a mould member,such as reader 121 in FIG. 9.

In FIG. 9, a further reader 122 serves as a recognition means for themould drums 20 for correct operation of the storage device 80.

It is preferable, therefore, to provide storage for the history of amould member, in which context the cleaning of the mould member is alsostored. It is preferable for at least the times and the associateddesignation of the cleaning processes carried out to be stored.

The identification of mould members 20 allows optimum efficiency of thesystem to be achieved, in which context the correct cleaning of themould members 20 can be ensured and documented. Furthermore, thecleaning of component 10 using cleaning device 60 can also be stored, sothat a complete picture of the cleaning of the parts of the system whichmay become contaminated is obtained.

The use of, preferably automated, storage and conveyor means for themould members allows their quality to be ensured and a high productionrate to be achieved. Moreover, a change of mould members, for examplewhen switching to a different shape of product, can be carried outquickly and with little operator intervention.

1. System for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one ormore food starting materials which are suitable for consumption, whichsystem comprises: a production device having: a frame, a mould memberprovided with at least one mould cavity, the frame supporting the mouldmember, mass feed means for feeding the mass to the one or more mouldcavities of the mould member, the mould member comprising a mould drumwhich is rotatable with respect to the frame about an associated axis ofrotation, which mould drum is provided with one or more mould cavities,which mould cavities each have an opening in at least one drum surface,the mass feed means comprising one or more mass feed members disposedalong a drum surface, and the mould drum comprising an outer drum whichis made at least partially from material with a porous structure, insuch a manner that a mould cavity has a mould cavity wall which is atleast partially porous, and an inner member also being provided, whichinner member fits into the outer drum, the inner member, preferablytogether with the adjoining surface of the outer drum, forming one ormore passages which extend from one head-end of the mould drum, so thata medium can be forced through the porous mould cavity wall and/orsuction can take place via a passage of this type.
 2. System accordingto claim 1, in which the outer surface of the inner member is providedwith grooves which form the passages.
 3. System according to claim 1, inwhich the outer drum is composed of one or more rings of porousmaterial, with the one or more mould cavities being formed by amaterial-removing machining operation.
 4. System according to claim 3,in which the porous structure is sealed in the outermost surface of theouter drum.
 5. Mould drum designed and intended for a system formoulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more foodstarting materials which are suitable for consumption, which systemcomprises: a production device having: a frame, a mould member providedwith at least one mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member,mass feed means for feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavitiesof the mould member, the mould member comprising a mould drum which isrotatable with respect to the frame about an associated axis ofrotation, which mould drum is provided with one or more mould cavities,which mould cavities each have an opening in at least one drum surface,the mass feed means comprising one or more mass feed members disposedalong a drum surface, and the mould drum comprising an outer drum whichis made at least partially from material with a porous structure, insuch a manner that a mould cavity has a mould cavity wall which is atleast partially porous, and an inner member also being provided, whichinner member fits into the outer drum, the inner member, preferablytogether with the adjoining surface of the outer drum, forming one ormore passages which extend from one head-end of the mould drum, so thata medium can be forced through the porous mould cavity wall and/orsuction can take place via a passage of this type.
 6. Mould drumaccording to claim 5, in which the outer surface of the inner member isprovided with grooves which form the passages.
 7. Mould drum accordingto claim 5, in which the outer drum is composed of one or more rings ofporous material, with the one or more mould cavities being formed by amaterial-removing machining operation.
 8. Mould drum according to claim7, in which the porous structure is sealed in the outermost surface ofthe outer drum. 9-11. (canceled)
 12. System for mouldingthree-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food startingmaterials which are suitable for consumption, which system comprises: aproduction device having: a frame, a mould member provided with at leastone mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member, mass feed meansfor feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mouldmember, the system furthermore comprising at least one cleaning devicefor cleaning one or more parts of the production device which come intocontact with the mass.
 13. System according to claim 12, in which themould member is removable from the frame.
 14. System according to claim12, in which the mould member is moveable with respect to the frame, theproduction device being provided with drive means for the mould member.15. System according to claim 14, in which the mould member comprises amould drum which is rotatable with respect to the frame about anassociated axis of rotation, which mould drum is provided with one ormore mould cavities, which mould cavities each have an opening in atleast one drum surface, the mass feed means comprising one or more massfeed members arranged along a drum surface.
 16. System according toclaim 15, in which the frame defines a substantially horizontal axis ofrotation for the mould drum.
 17. System according to claim 16, in whichthe frame comprises a fitting spindle which at one end is fixed to theframe, so that the mould drum can be slided onto the fitting spindle.18. System according to claim 14, in which the mould member comprises amoveable mould plate which can, be slid to and fro, which mould plate isprovided with one or more mould cavities, which mould cavities each havean opening in at least one plate surface, the mass feed means comprisingone or more mass feed members arranged along a plate surface.
 19. Systemaccording to claim 12, in which a mould member cleaning device isdesigned to clean the mould member.
 20. System according to claim 19, inwhich the mould member is removable from the frame and in which themould member cleaning device is arranged at a distance from theproduction device.
 21. System according to claim 20, in which the systemfurthermore comprises conveyor means for conveying the mould memberbetween the production device and the mould member cleaning device.22-28. (canceled)
 29. System according to claim 13, in which eachremovable mould member is provided with an identification, and in whichthe system comprises recognition means for recognizing theidentification of a mould member. 30-36. (canceled)
 37. System accordingto claim 12, in which a cleaning device is designed to carry out atleast one cleaning process substantially automatically. 38-40.(canceled)
 41. System according to claim 12, in which a cleaning deviceis designed to treat the one or more parts that are to be cleaned withat least one cleaning liquid. 42-45. (canceled)
 46. System according toclaim 41, in which the mould member is provided with one or morepassages which are in communication with each mould cavity of the mouldmember, and in which the cleaning device can be coupled to the said oneor more passages, in such a manner that cleaning liquid can flow throughthe said passages to the mould cavity.
 47. System according to claim 12,in which the mould member is provided with one or more mould cavitieseach with a mould cavity wall, which is formed at least in part by awall part with a porous structure.
 48. System according to claim 46, inwhich the mould member is provided with one or more mould cavities eachwith a mould cavity wall, which is formed at least in part by a wallpart with a porous structure, and in which the cleaning device isdesigned to force cleaning liquid through the wall part with the porousstructure into the mould cavity.
 49. System according to claim 47, inwhich the passages leading to each mould cavity each have a feed openingin a surface of the mould member, and in which the cleaning device has adistributor for feeding cleaning liquid to one or more of the passages.50. System according to claim 15, in which the mould member cleaningdevice is provided with support means for rotatably supporting the moulddrum that is to be cleaned, and in which there are also drive means fordriving the mould drum to be cleaned in rotation. 51-58. (canceled) 59.System for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one ormore food starting materials which are suitable for consumption, inparticular human consumption, which system comprises: a productiondevice having: a frame, a mould member provided with at least one mouldcavity, the frame supporting the mould member, mass feed means forfeeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mould member,in which the mould member is removable from the frame, and in which thesystem furthermore comprises a storage device for storing a plurality ofmould members.
 60. System for moulding three-dimensional products from amass of one or more food starting materials which are suitable forconsumption, in particular human consumption, which system comprises: aproduction device having: a frame, a mould member provided with at leastone mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member, mass feed meansfor feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mouldmember, in which the mould member is removable from the frame, and inwhich each removable mould member is provided with an identification,and in which the system comprises recognition means for recognizing theidentification of a mould member.
 61. System for mouldingthree-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food startingmaterials which are suitable for consumption, in particular humanconsumption, which system comprises: a production device having: aframe, a mould member provided with at least one mould cavity, the framesupporting the mould member, mass feed means for feeding the mass to theone or more mould cavities of the mould member, in which the mouldmember is removeable from the frame, and in which the system furthermorecomprises a memory for storing at least one history of a mould member.62-65. (canceled)